Forgotten Saints
by Poisoned.Thorn
Summary: The gods were myth untill the storm came, there was no war, we allowed our churches and beliefs to burn to nothing, we were frightened children who allowed these "beings" to take over. Veronika Thade is dragged into the world she hates, the gods and hers.
1. Prologue

**The title is copy right to Billy Talent, other than that no authors note, just read and enjoy.**

* * *

It began with the storm.

The Gods are fiction. They are not real, their place is in Greek myths, or so we thought. My brother, sister, and

I watched from our kitchen window; children with the same liquid green eyes stared in awe at the strange sight.

The sky was unlike any other we had ever seen: the clouds swallowed the sky and moved like liquid, the thun-

der made an odd pounding noise which shook the house. The lightening shot through the sky making the lights

flicker and hum. My parents stood behind us watching as well. I remember feeling my father's hand rest on my

head and stroke my hair; I leaned into him and looked up at his eyes. He was worried. He knew something we

children could not yet understand. This storm was far from natural, it was provoked by us, and now in one night

our lives and the world changed.

It was a week after the storm when the broadcast came on; it announced a new beginning, the return, and some

other so-called meaningful messages. The Gods returned and they took their place in our lives once again.

Where were the holy wars? Humans are frightened children, why didn't we try to fight for our beliefs? We are

cowards who take the easy route to survival. There were no wars, we had a divine being stand before us, solid

proof that God, our creator, existed in a physical form. I remember walking to elementary school, it was my 3rd

day of grade four. Eleanor my older sister held my hand as we walked down the narrow street, the houses on it

gone. I slowed down to stare at the construction of another temple in honor of Zeus; the stone being raised was

so white that I thought it couldn't have been man-made.

This is not where my story starts though. It starts three months after my twenty-sixth birthday involving a forest,

a man, a hound, and The Race.


	2. Dangerous beginings

**You can guess where I got my character's name LOL. **

**I'm a huge fan of Billy talent and this is my favorite song so far, so you know all Copyright to lyrics and such goes to them. **

* * *

_Saint Veronika_

_By Billy Talent_

_Lines 17-32_

_Oh Veronika, Saint Veronika_

_You can't leave this world behind_

_So be strong enough to hold onto us_

_It's just not your time to die_

_And while the angels sleep_

_All of the devils are awake_

_Waiting to steal your love_

_Right outside of Heaven's gate_

_And all the sacred hearts_

_Can't numb the feeling from the pain_

'_Cause when drugs don't work_

_You're gonna curse his holy name_

_Damn God, yeah, God, yeah_

_Damn God, yeah, God, yeah_

_Oh Veronika, Saint Veronika_

_You can't leave this world behind._

* * *

A mausoleum's shadow looms over a sixteen year-old girl. The stone building is surrounded by the statues of the god Zeus in pose to represent his strength and leadership. The girl fiddles with her long, red hair; she gath ers it to the left side and braids it. Her hands then slowly moves down to her school bag and take out a chisel. She climbs up to the first statue, holds the chisel to Zeus's face, and begins to scratch away, the bits of stone that drop to the ground making hollow thumps against the soil.

* * *

The house is dark, the sounds of the foundation settling are quiet and comforting. A young woman with long, dark red hair and liquid green eyes, holds her sweater close to her body. The night air blows through the open kitchen window. She makes no move to close it. The woman's eyes are glued to the backyard beyond it. A forest opening gapes; open like a rotting wound, the vines from the dying trees hang over shriveled and grey.

"Veronika?" The woman turns and looks at her sister- her short brown hair is tied back in a pony tail, and her glasses are set on the bridge of her nose. "Veronika, it's freezing outside." She walks to the window and closes it, then looks at her younger sister with a puzzled expression.

"What is it?" Veronika tips her head towards the forest; her sister follows her gaze and stares. "I hate that forest. It is not a place I want the boys to play in." She reaches up towards the light switch when Veronika's hand grabs hers.

"Leave the lights off." The young woman walks to the house's porch door and steps out onto the white painted wood. A moist breeze blows through the forest and wafts an odd stench through the neighborhood. "Eleanor, could you turn on the yard light, please? I think I see something." Eleanor fixes her glasses and flicks a switch near the upstairs case. The yard floods with light and shows a man struggling to get out of the bushes. Veronika slowly takes in the sight before running down the stairs, when a terrible screeching erupts from deeper inside the forest, causing her to stop, her eyes locked with the man's.

"Help me, please!" he wails in a terrified tone. The man takes a step, but the screeching seems to pause for a moment. He stops. From far away, Veronika can see the sweat on his brow slowly trickle down his cheek. The sound of wings and black figures make Veronika kneel and shield herself as creatures swoop around the yard. She peeks through her arms and looks for the man. The screeching comes again- this time a man's screams are mixed with the creatures as they go deeper in the forest. Eleanor runs outside, frantic, helps Veronika up, and tries to take her inside. But the young woman pulls away.

"Did you not just see that?"

Eleanor takes her sister's hand once again and tries to drag her inside the house "I did and we are not getting involved. I will call the police and we are going to stay in the house where it is safe."

"Eleanor, do you really think that the police are going to get involved? Those things were not, well- you know- just forget it! That man needs help!" Veronika pulls away and walks toward the forest opening.

"Veronika, this is insane, you cannot go in there! That forest is rotten, and there are things from the underworld in there that do not normally tread on our soil." Eleanor watches the young woman stop and turn with a 'are you serious' look.

"You are not serious. You think there are under-worldly creatures in there?" Veronika rubs her forehead. "Elle, come on, the gods hardly come to earth, what makes you think they would put creatures here? You know what, why are we even discussing this? That man could be dead already!" Veronika stands at the forest entrance, hesi tantly then finally pushes through the brush, her sister's voice muffled through the trees.

Walking through the forest, Veronika takes the full extent of the stench that she smelled only minutes ago, she uses her sweater sleeve to cover her mouth and nose. Through the trees she sees a strange foundation, she reaches out and through the dark she realizes it is a stone pillar, a few meters away another one. Veronika takes out her phone and opens it to create some light. She lowers down to the base of the pillar and sees explosives at tached to it. The bright colored wires and the bomb itself makes the young woman's green eyes widen, then she looks at other pillars that have been given the same treatment. "What in the world?" Veronika shuts the phone and allows her eyes to adjust. Through the dark, very clearly, she sees a temple, but unlike the other temples of the gods she sees the stone is stained with black. A strange fog flows around it and the pillars. A groan of pain comes from the temple opening, making Veronika forget her own fear and run into the temple against her judgment. The smell of rotting flesh causes her to gag and fall against a wall. She looks around and sees people in robes, some are speaking to themselves- others pick at festering wounds. They are all in their own little world, they look through Veronika as if she wasn't there. In the temple burns torches of blue fire, and in the middle is a pit full of mist with a stone table rising above it. The stone was stained with some kind of dark liquid that Veronika did not want to know about, but on it is the man groaning. She takes a closer look and see's he is bleeding from the head.

"Someone…" His voice is hoarse, no one looks up at him, Veronika sees this as her chance and slowly walks up to the stone table. She takes the man's hand, he opens his eyes and squeezes her hand tightly. "Y-you, please-" He recognizes the girl from the yard right away, she shushes him and helps him up. None of the people look at them as they walk out the temple. The man points to a pillar.

"Look we don't have time for this! I need to get you to a hospital, you might have a concussion." Veronika tries to lead him away, but his insistent pulling makes her cave in to his demands. She sets him down and watches him fiddle with the wires to the explosives. "Wait, you were the one who put theses all over the temple?"

The man nods quickly and reaches in his pocket and retrieves a detonator of some sort. It looks homemade. As the man finishes he suddenly looks horrified and stands up to quickly, making him fall into Veronika's arms. "Hey, calm down, what is it?" The man turns to her and squeezes her arms, causing the girl wince.

"M-my Jake, I forgot my Jake. He is still inside, please get him!" Veronika twists her face, she did not remem ber anyone else in there that was, well, relatively normal. The man's eyes began to fill with tears and his pleas became more desperate.

"Alright, alright." Veronika stands and runs back into the temple. She scans the premise and sees no one except the 'weird people', and then a small noise caught her attention. Under the stone table a shape moves across the mist. She walks forward, she leans against the stone table and kneels, holding her hand out. Through the shadow a little yellow snout with a black nose pokes out and sniffs her hand, then licks it. Veronika quickly reaches and pulls out a puppy before grumbling, "Seriously, I came in here to rescue you?" She holds the animal to her chest, making it wag its tail. A shriek makes her turn to the entrance and see one of the cloak figures shake violently. The other hooded figures stare, some are on the ground bowing, while others cower behind things. Veronika watches with interest. She slowly turns and faces a pair of intense blue eyes, cold and condemning; they look through her body and soul.

"Aha." Veronika knows who's temple this is, and never in her life would she think that _he _would have one built. His facial features were sharp, his skin pale, his hair and beard long, but those eyes are haunting and for a moment she sees them turn black. His arm comes up, and his hand, just as black with soot as his ancient armor, reaches for her with anything but tenderness. Veronika jerks back and almost falls. She takes tentative steps towards the entrance, her eyes never leaving his blue ones. The god begins to walk slowly around the table, his hand glides effortlessly across it. He raises an eyebrow and actually smiles. Veronika sees the lie behind his lips, its making her shiver. Why didn't she run? She feels a horrible thing coming from him; he was evil and broken like a petrified tree, his presence is unnerving. The god stops and tips his head to the side in a questioning manner.

* * *

The man sits on the ground, his head is finally clear and he watches the temple opening while wiping the blood off his forehead with a handkerchief. The woman runs out holding the puppy, her face is a mixture of fear and confusion. The man stands, gripping the detonator, his eyes narrowing. When the girl gets close enough he grabs her and starts to run to the house where the Harpies caught him.

After a few minutes, Veronika stops and drops the dog, and gives the man a solid punch to the jaw making him stagger against the tree. "I went into that stupid temple to rescue a dog? Oh and in case you didn't know- which I know you do- the god of the underworld happens to reside there!" The man rubs his jaw and gives the girl a startled look.

"I have a feeling you are not fond of the 'higher power'." The man looks at the detonator then back to the girl. "Did he see you?"

Veronika shoots him a dirty glare and sighs. "Unless he is blind, yes." The man shakes his head and his shoul ders droop.

"I am truly sorry, but it seems I have placed you in a tough situation."

The woman narrows her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Hades now has the right to kill you; he will hunt you and take your soul to the underworld for saving me and helping to do this." He presses the detonation button; a wave of fire erupts from the forest's center. Despite the distance Veronika feels heat wash over her face and body. One thought circles her mind as she covers her ears from the noise.

"What have I gotten myself into?"


	3. One Choice

**I've been discussing this with my friend, but I recently found out that Hades is the eldest brother. That's awesome, what sucks though is your younger brother gets heaven then the middle brother gets the oceans, then you get the freaking underworld which is not exactly Disney land. Also don't forget Pluto is not a planet anymore so sorry about that Hades. *sad face***

* * *

"Come on let's go!" The man takes Veronika's arm and makes her run in front of him, through the roar of the flames comes the same screeching of the creatures, causing the two people pick up the pace. Veronika sees the yard light, she bursts out of the bushes ignoring the stinging pain on her cheeks from branches reaching out and scratching her. Eleanor opens the porches sliding door and shuts off the yard light, despite the darkness Veronika knows well enough where the steps to the porch are, she takes the man's hand and leads him inside. The man kneels breathing heavily, the young woman runs to the window and looks towards the sky, only the light from the fire is evident.

"What happened?" Eleanor looks at the man then at Veronika "Veronika what the hell happened? Talk to me!"

"Shut up Eleanor I cannot think when you yell." Veronika grumbles and helps up the man, leading him to the kitchen table. The man thanks her when she hands him a glass of water and takes a seat in the chair beside him. Eleanor fumes silently, staring at her younger sister waiting for answers, Veronika sighs and looks at her "This man is a representative of the gods." The man looks at her, his eyes widen with surprise

"How did you know that?"

Veronika runs her nails gently across the tables varnish surface "would anyone blow up a god's temple of their own free will and know all too well of the consequences?" She locks her eyes with his; she finally has a chance to get a proper look at the man. His grey eyes are harsh, the deep wrinkles carved into his face remind her of someone but she cannot remember who "I think it is only proper that we know each other's names since I saved you and all."

The man finally smiles "I'm Andrew Hedrick."

"Veronika Thade and that worried looking woman over there is my sister Eleanor. I wish we met under better circumstances but I must ask you to leave now since you did just shorten my life span by many a year." Eleanor eyes grow wide she looks at Andrew, his head is bowed.

"What did you do Veronika, what are you talking about?" She sits by Veronika who is avoiding eye contact "Veronika what have you done, look at me."

"The forest, there was a reason for it rotting away, in the middle there was a temple; it was stain with black." Veronika watches her sisters reaction, Eleanor leans forward and places her hand over her mouth, as if she was there herself Eleanor's eyes dart to and fro, she plays out the scenario through her imagination.

"Hades temple, I thought Zeus banned any from being built." Andrew sits up and picks up the puppy, the animal looks between the adults as if understanding what is being said.

"He did" The two women look at Andrew. "He did it in secret, right in the middle of this forest, it was so thick and vast that even the gods had trouble locating it, out of the cities and regions belonging to the gods, Hades chose this place."

"What does this have to do with Veronika?" Eleanor takes her sisters hand squeezing it gently, Veronika takes her hand away and stands, she walks to the kitchen window, the flames are slowly dining down, in the background a sirens blare.

"Hades saw your sister" Eleanor posture goes rigid for a moment, her eyes shift over to her sister, the red and blue light highlight the blank expression

Never taking her gaze away she taps her nail against the table "What will happen to her?" Andrew frowns and shakes his head Eleanor stands up and walks to Veronika.

The young woman knows what is coming, she turns to her older sister and feels a sharp slap across her face, she watches with absent eyes as tears flow down Eleanor's cheeks. "Damn you, can you ever think of others before yourself?" She walks up stairs leaving the other two adults. Andrew looks at Veronika

"I m sorry"

"Apologize all you want but I died a long time ago." She sits and rubs her cheek, her fingers graze the small scratches from the forest, they sting slightly. Andrew takes a small sip of his water and stares at his reflection

"Your sister is quite protective of you."

Veronika runs her fingers against her hair, she feels twigs and leaves knotted through it. "My brother and sister are all I have left." Andrew watches intently

"If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"

"My mother moved up west and father is at Mare wood."

Andrew sighs and drinks the rest of the water "Mare wood is the local cemetery."

"You asked where they are"

"Look I know a way I can help you" he holds Jake up so Veronika can have a better view of the animal, Jake tips his head to the side and licks his nose. The woman sets her attention on the pup's right eye, even though there is one lamp on through the dull haze she sees the creatures yellow iris glow slightly.

"Hell no" Veronika stands up quickly and places her chair between herself and the creature "I'm not having that _thing _in my house. Don't you know anything!? That thing is created by the hands of Hades himself; Hounds are something I am not a fan of." Veronika glares at the young hound pup through the dark, if it weren't for the one yellow eye, she would have easily been fooled into thinking it was a Labrador.

Andrew runs this hand through his graying hair and sighs, "I know what he is, and I know what these creatures can become but look at him. He is not like any other hound I've ever seen" Veronika looks out the window once again to see if Hades creatures followed her, her eyes scan the forest entrance but sees no movement. Andrew continues while holding the hound and scratching its right ear making its stump of a tail wag. "This hound is different, it is not too submissive or dominant, and I'm not sure what Hades has done."

The young woman flips her dark red hair to the side and sits at the kitchen table "A hound is a hound and I will not have it in my house." Andrew frowns and takes her hand making Veronika look at him with a surprised expression.

"I'm begging you to take him, you don't understand as soon as I leave this house I am a walking corpse, I have stolen from Hades I have destroyed his temple, he is going to find me and kill me and he will then come after you. This hound is what I can give you to help you, but you must do exactly what I ask"

"Do not be so dramatic, I can take care of myself and besides, wait, stole? What do you mean stole?" Veronika pulls away and frowns slightly while looking at the dog, she then stares at the man "He isn't yours is he…"

The man leans back as well and rubs his temples "No, I saved him twenty years ago, please just listen, no one will take him." He hands Veronika an envelope, she turns it over a couple of times "Keep this envelope for a month, with in that month if I do not come to take the hound, open it."

"You are not giving me a choice, are you?"

"In all honesty Miss Thade do you think you have one?"

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**Please Review… or else. Damn straight, it's a polite threat.**


	4. A Last Request

**My goal is to try to submit a chapter every two days or earlier. I hope you enjoy, this is where we pick up on some action, when the story SORTA starts to roll. Also, recently Fanfic has been pissing me off, my document Manager thingy is out to get me, and it screws up so much of my format for my chapters. **

**Chapters shall be longer, around three thousand words!**

**Oops another note, I'm not super happy with chapter two, and I was debating whether I rewrite it or not, but I hope chapter three will make up for it.**

* * *

_The sound of leaves and branches crunch under her feet, they echo through the forest making her run faster, the sky is red but the world is grey. Veronika watches as her hair flows against the breeze, the red is deeper, as it touches her skin it leaves bloody steaks that she tries to wipe away, they burn slightly. She sees her house up ahead, her spirits lift significantly, she runs faster but the house moves farther away, "no, no, no, no." The house's wooden surface begins to blacken, the boards break and split. "No stop!" She falls on the ground, an unseen force pushes her to the soil, she ignores the pain and begins to drag herself, rocks dig into her arms, she grits her teeth. A shadow looms over her body making the woman freeze, she feels a pair of cold hands grab her arms and roughly turn her on her back. The same piercing blue eyes pin her to the ground, Hades smiles to himself more than her, he kneels and grabs her chin so she cannot look away. The god runs his free hand through her red hair then lowers his face close to her so they are only centimeters away; he stares at her for a moment then moves close to her right ear, his lips just grazing it._

"_Stupid mortal, how long do you think you can cheat death?" _

_Veronika bites her lip, she feels her breath is leaving her body, she is limp and lifeless. Growling on her right side causes her to place her attention on a full formed hound. It stands amongst the trees, only its head is shown, its black gums bare large jagged fangs, saliva drips from its mouth steaming as it hits the icy ground. Unlike others hounds its snout is long and its fur is slightly yellow rather than black, it steps out of the shadows, its large size is strange, confusing, with each step the muscles under the creatures skin tighten, and poised to pounce. Veronika hears an equally threatening snarl from Hades, she looks at his eyes, the once bright blue is replaced with red, he digs his nails into her arm cutting her skin. The hound tense's and growls again then jumps forward. Veronika catches the glimpse of one blue eye and one yellow._

* * *

Veronika wakes up screaming; she covers her mouth quickly and closes her eyes to stop any tears daring to come. She lays back into her pillows, despite the comfort they are suppose to produce she feels the hard forest floor under her once again "Why won't they stop?" she whimpers, a tongue licks her cheek. The woman opens her eyes and stares at Jake; he sits on the carpet staring at her intently. Over the first days she has taken care of him he grew larger than expected, full adult size in only a week. "It's been a month hasn't it?" The hound lies on the floor and puts his head on his front paws and whines. Veronika looks at her face in the windows reflection, her face is pale and sickly, and the shadows under her eyes are the evidence of weeks of bad dreams and fatigue. The night terrors come every night, the same dream, only this time it is more real, Veronika looks at her arms and sees deep cuts, far too real. "Good, I don't think I can take anymore" She reaches in her night stand and pulls out the envelope, "Maybe Andrew will come back- " Jake barks and sticks his nose against the envelope, Veronika scratches his head "You could very well replace lassie you know." She curls into a ball on the bed and stares at the paper, her fingers pick at the glued flap, "I wonder…" she slowly rips the paper and takes a breath before she reaches her index finger and thumb into it and touches a glossy surface. "Will this save me?"

* * *

"The Race was created by the Gods as an act of entertainment for immortals and mortals, and places them on an equal level where neither is more powerful or weaker. Every year the race track is moved to a different location to prevent cheating. Participants have three weeks to complete the race and make it to the last check point. The Race requires eight teams and within the group are two gods chosen at random to participate." Eleanor stretches and watches as the other cars drive by; she flips through the small booklet again then looks at Veronika. "This is stupid Vern; you only found this thing, this morning." She stares at the card with the number 'three' on it "who would have thought that man was one of the riders."

Veronika gives Eleanor a quick glance then sets her eyes back on the road, right, who would of thought. "Isn't there anything on there about how no 'mortal' has come out alive, or do they think we don't give a crap about that detail anymore." It is true, The Race is mostly known for the deaths of the riders, and the real reason for changing the courses is because the Gods know they are stained with the blood of their so called children.

"Don't you dare change the subject" Eleanor looks out the passenger window and watches as they pass one of Poseidon's temples, she stares at it for awhile then takes her glasses off. "I don't want you doing this, maybe there is another way-"

"Eleanor" The older woman looks at Veronika and sees her tighten her grip on the steering wheel "I cannot take it anymore, the bastard is in my head, if he doesn't kill me I'll kill myself and he has done this in only a month, imagine two. I _need_ it to stop if only for three weeks, and this-" She grabs the booklet from her sister "-is the only way out, besides who better to join this thing then a person who is going to die anyway." Eleanor turns away, her stiff pose a clear signal of her anger. Veronika sighs and tries to focus on the road once again, it had to stop, she will die, and at least she could do something before that time. "I'm just going to make a quick stop, ok?" Eleanor does a half shrug

"Do what you want; you don't listen to me anymore." Jake yawns and stretches on the back seat, his ears pick up and his eyes stare out the window.

* * *

Veronika walks along a dusty path, she looks at passing graves the moss and roots of nearby trees dig into the old stones, the graveyard is un-kept. Twisted dead trees litter the land making the yard seem sick, Veronika stops for a moment and holds her head, she feels hot and faint. Jake runs up beside her and nudges her leg with his snout, she strokes his head and smiles down at him "Your growing on me, you know that." Veronika looks at the green van near the entrance, Eleanor is reading her book, and once Veronika pulled in front of the yard they had another argument. Veronika knows Eleanor hates the graveyard; it makes her sad to have a reminder that their father is gone. She reaches a mausoleum and sits on its stone steps "It has been awhile since I last spoke to you, Eleanor and I are leaving for the airport, to our own private jet believe it or not." She turns and looks at the mausoleums black gate, the small details of the curving metal is the only piece of the structure she likes. "I'm going to go somewhere dad and I might not be coming home, who knows I might be seeing you soon enough." The steps are cold; through her jeans she feels her skin slightly numb. The woman stands and turns to the statue of Zeus, she smiles and enjoys her handy work, thanks to wind erosion the scratches on the face are worse. "I'm going to ask Eleanor not to come, she has two children, if she got hurt in this race, I…" She stops to take a breath and run her fingers over the scratches on her arms "I fear that more than my own death."

* * *

"God you are such a pain in the ass, just stay here and quit arguing with me" Veronika goes up to a customs officer and gives him the card, he looks at it with wide eyes

"You are one of the eight riders, where is your hound?" The man looks down and peeks in the kennel Jake yawns and nibbles at his right paw "That's your hound… you are not serious, are they not suppose to be ferocious looking?"

Eleanor crosses her arms and shoots the man a dirty glare "you don't believe us?" The man places his hands up in a calm down motion

"I meant no offence, please come this way your jet is waiting for you" he begins to walk away when Veronika drops her bag and grabs Eleanor's arm

"Enough just go home to your boys ok. Plus, think about it, your husband is too busy with work, with him not here who is going to take care of them? Besides I don't want you risking your life, don't you remember? People die in this." Eleanor picks up her sisters bag and cleans her glasses

"Patrick is taking care of the boys"

"Patrick?" Veronika finds it hard to picture their brother babysitting.

"Veronika you are my sister, if this is the last thing you want to do at least allow me to be with you." She begins to walk after the customs officer leaving Veronika backed into a corner.

The young woman groans and digs her nails into her scalp, in the kennel Jake shuffles to and fro; she can see her nephews without an aunt, but not without a mother. Veronika pushes the trolley where Jakes kennel sits, she stares at the plastic top "I will have to survive this."

* * *

_Mountains surround her small body, the shadows slowly reach for her, and they turn into skeletal arms begging to scratch her flesh. Veronika scrambles back but hits a wall, she runs her hands on it and brings a hand to her face, black ooze coats her fingers making her cringe. She couldn't understand how he found her, she wasn't at home, she wasn't even on the ground. Veronika pulls herself off the wall, the black ooze sticks to her back and weaves itself through her hair making it impossible to move. The clouds darken slightly and rain begins to pour, soaking Veronika, she shivers and watches for something, anything to happen. A couple minutes goes by and the only sound is the rain hitting the ground and her skin, she looks around frantically, she can feel his eyes still, her life escaping her "Just stop."_

* * *

"Veronika!" the young woman wakes up, her left cheek is stinging slightly, she opens her eyes and stares at Eleanor.

"I was screaming wasn't I?" She hates it, Eleanor has never seen her go through one of her nightmares and having to see it now before the race is bad timing.

"I've been trying to wake you up for an hour the jet landed awhile ago, I had to slap you to wake you, what the hell is happening!?" She stares at her younger sister; Veronika turns away to the window and clenches her jaw shut.

"He's here; the son-of-a bitch is here."

* * *

**I cannot wait until I actually start writing the chapters involving the race and Hades, people are going to start wondering where this sick stuff comes from, personal experience, fortune cookies, what? We shall see.**

**Also I forgot to mention that I'm really happy everyone is enjoying the story so far.**

**Please Review… no threat today, you guys are behaving.**


	5. The Race

**Thank you for the lovely reviews, and the really enthusiastic ones I recently got XD. The reviews I get always encourage me to write more, I get giddy and happy that people enjoy the story so much even though nothing super exciting has happened yet. So, I send love to my readers and you should all expect more!**

* * *

The planes runway should not be in anyway, categorized as an air strip; it is a dirt road beside a small booth with a little man in it. When Veronika steps out of the plane the afternoon sun immediately blinds her as if she had never seen it before, she raises her hand to shield her eyes and tries to make out where she is. Through the light haze she sees figures and hears the snarling of hounds mixed with the clanging of metal cages. A moment goes by and the young woman hears her sister distant voice, soft hands gathers hers and leads her down metal steps. Every time her foot hits the metal it is hollow and unwelcoming making Veronika grasp the rail, her grip tightens making her knuckles white, she begins to doubt, can she really do this? Again she hears Eleanor's voice, but this time it is clearer making Veronika open her eyes not realizing she had closed them.

"Come on Vern just a few more steps" Eleanor shows her concern through her voice but keeps it in a steady tone. Veronika looks around, she see's deep green forests and strange looking mountains with jagged edges pushing against the blue of the sky, people are walking out of jets with luggage and cages carrying twisted beasts. The two women have never seen a real hound other then Jake, the feature most talked about is the odd eye color they share with one another. The hounds' bodies are thin but large, their eyes are crazed and their mouths are unusually large with teeth crowded into them. Eleanor reaches the bottom of the metal stairs leading out of the jet, and stares at the disgusting creatures trying to rip the metal cages that confine them. "Do you think they are like that because of all the inbreeding?"

Veronika, despite her weak demeanor straightens her posture and walks down do look at the hounds. "Maybe" She steps on to the ground and shuffles her sneakers against the dirt making small clouds of dust rise.

"We need supplies." Eleanor reaches in her coat pocket and looks at the race card "Money has been uploaded on this; I will see what we need." Veronika nods and watches people take their luggage off the jet, Eleanor squeezes her sisters hand "Don't push yourself anymore then you have to." She walks to a group of shop stands in a forest clearing; the shop keepers call to one another and show their merchandise to other rider's companions. Veronika's eyes narrow slightly, slaves she thought, servants that the other riders have, it is disgusting really, to pay another to do your bidding. Some men carry out Jake's Kennel; she walks over to the animal and unlocks the containers gate his eyes calmly survey his new surroundings before he steps out. The hound raises his snout and sniffs the air, he leans toward Veronika and growls slightly, she sighs and kneels before him.

"I'm quite fond of you, but you have to understand, I'm no immortal I have weaknesses" The animal sits and looks through Veronika, she turns and sees Eleanor leading a man towards them, he holds a tape measure and a genuinely honest smile. She stands; Jake weaves himself under her legs almost making her trip as the two people approach. The man holds out his hand, Veronika stares at it then at him; he laughs slightly from the awkward moment and kneels to look at Jake.

"Your hound is a bit larger than normal; it will probably be the same in its other form." He stands up and unravels the tape, "who is the rider?" Eleanor points to the Veronika who gives the man a glare "could you change the Hound please?"

"What?" Veronika looks at Jake; he paws at the air trying to hit a fly the shop keep looks at Eleanor then at the red head

"You don't know how to change your hound? Look, it is simple hold out your hand" The man reaches in his pocket he takes the young woman's hand and cuts her finger, earning him a kick in the shin.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Some passerby stops and watch with interest from Veronika's outburst, she backs away and points her other finger at him "touch me again and I hurt you." Eleanor rolls her eyes

"You already did."

"What is your problem? The hound needs the rider's blood to change." He grumbles and rubs his injured shin; he stands and again holds the measuring tape up. Veronika feels her cheeks slightly flush with heat, she kneels in front of Jake and places a drop of blood on his tongue, his eyes suddenly dilate and his breathing becomes heavy. The young woman stands and backs up. Jakes bones can he heard popping, his spine begins to standout out more under his skin, the hounds jaw snaps into a different place making it possible to have it open wider in a unnatural way. The claws grow along with body, they thicken with strength, his breath is harsh, a predators lungs sucking in air, his large eyes stare down at the shocked women. The creature grew ten feet right before everyone, his body is rippling with power but the hound still stands like a normal dog despite its haunting appearance. Jake lies on his belly and pants naturally. Veronika strokes the hounds head; he closes his eyes and leans against her body for attention.

The man takes the measurements "You are lucky I had his measurements from the original rider, or you wouldn't be able to participate tomorrow morning." He rolls up the tape measure and places it in his pocket

"You knew Andrew?" The shop keeper nods while examining the hound,

"And everyone knows he named you as his replacement, even the gods have been informed of your position." Veronika clenches a fist as the name rolls off the man's tongue so naturally; Jake opens his eyes and stands up pressing his large nose against her cheek. The man continues not realizing the woman's hostility; Veronika did not know how she would fully react to see 'them' there, watching as if the race has nothing to do with them, but it has everything. "I hope you understand Miss Thade that everyone here thinks you will be the first to fall."

Veronika stares at by standers then turns back to the man, she folds her arms. To already be judged as a failure by complete strangers just proves they are the weak ones, they want to try to give themselves words of encouragement so they think they will not return home in a tiny wooden box. "What do you think?" she tilts her head to the side and raises an eyebrow.

The shop keeper smiles and shakes his head "In all honesty I am not sure what will happen." He begins to walk away but turns "But I will tell you this, I think this race will be different from any other."

Eleanor stands by her sister and watches the shop keeper walk away "he's kind of cute you know, there is no ring on his finger so-"

"Enough, I'm not in the mood" behind the mountains the sun drowns in clouds and becomes closer to the ground, people begin to move their luggage to a camp, Jake barks startling the two women. Veronika pats his large snout then picks up her bags and follows Eleanor "where are the supplies?"

"It is being brought to us tomorrow." In the camp is the sweet scent of sap burning from fire wood and fresh cotton from the erected tents. Every tent has a number for the seven human teams, the two chosen gods are lucky enough not to sleep on a pile of dirt, the women walk to a tent with a number three. Multiple times Veronika apologizes as Jake walks through the camp, knocking over tents as he goes, growling at annoyed riders and other hounds. Eleanor walks into the tent, they are large enough to completely stand up, and one cot sits in the middle with a three legged table beside it. Veronika moves the tent flap and pokes her head in; she stares at the sad looking bed, looks like only one of them is sleeping in the tent. The older woman looks at her sister "how much do think the ground is cleaner then this bed." Veronika shrugs

"I'm sleeping outside" she takes a rope and ties it around Jakes neck then ties the end to a tree so no fights with other hounds will occur, Jake pulls slightly making the tree groan from the stress. Veronika pats his hind leg; he lies down so the young woman can scratch his ear making him wag his tail. Through the forest an ominous wind blows against the trees making the forest come to life with the movement of branches and rustling of leaves. Already Veronika misses her home, her house, the smell of the pine trees and the witch hazel in her garden. Something is walking through and weaving itself between the trees, watching the people in the site. Veronika places her hand on a tree and tries to listen, but her lack of rest and food cause dizziness, she sits down and leans against Jakes stomach, for what reason is this race giving her a bad feeling or could it very well be intentional? The red head sighs and runs her fingers through the healthy fur on Jakes stomach, her eyelids feel heavy. She stares at the fire pit; the figures standing around it seem to sway, for a moment she sees blue flames flash in the center jerking her up. Veronika stands, then collapses to the ground like a broken puppet whose master decides to cut its strings, she looks at her hand and notice the sudden white color replacing the healthy peach. Rolling up the sleeves of her coat she cringes at the sight of her cuts bleeding profusely "Please, why does this have to happen now." she staggers against a tree and falls into the shadows so no one can see her. Beads of sweat form on her brow, people's voices are muffled until she hears one man shout

"The sky, something is wrong with the sky!" Jake stands at Veronika's side he nudges her side with his nose and gives a deep whine which rumbles from the hound's throat. Veronika turns to the sky and bites her lip; a maroon sky swims across the setting sun making the camp dark, far off she hears rumbling and flashes of strange light dance through the clouds. The hounds howl, making the young woman cover her ears, hearing more of it as nails on a chalk board then the voices of monsters, the one man can still be heard through the cries. "The gods have arrived; they have finally come to give our race their blessing." Veronika blacks out and falls at Jakes feet, he cries with the other hounds but with a different purpose.

* * *

The morning light breaks between the trees and places itself right on Veronika's face, she slowly opens her eyes and allows the view to adjust, people are running back and forth, in so much of a rush she feels she is stuck in her moment. The woman brings a hand to her face and looks at it, her skin is back to normal, she questions last night, was it another dream? Her answer comes as a shadow of a woman clothed in black and draped in a brown coat.

"Still asleep I see. If you continue I will have to leave you." Veronika takes a deep breath; she looks around for Jake and frowns slightly

"Where is the dog?"

"Waiting for us at the starting line, he is packed up and ready to go but I can't say the same for you." Eleanor tosses Veronika some clothes "all the riders must wear the same traveling clothes so when we go to different town's people will recognize who we are." The red head nods and makes her way to the tent to change "Veronika come find me when you are done"

* * *

Through the light, figures of people sitting on hounds are seen, the monsters snap at each other and growl, Veronika picks out Jake right away, he towers over the rest, the supplies strapped to him look small enough to belong to a doll house. The woman approaches she fixes her black lens goggles and stuffs a gas mask in his coats pocket. Eleanor explains the purpose as they walk; apparently some of the land they will have to travel through is dangerous with unknown gases. Jake stands calm unlike the other creatures itching to tear each other apart; Veronika approaches and pats his front leg. The hound lies down so she can climb on the saddle, Eleanor follows suit and takes a place behind her, she ties a type of leather belt around Veronika and herself "It is so we don't fall off."

"good to know" a few other riders look at the women, Jake stands and moves slightly to settle the new weight on his back.

"Have you two ever ridden a hound before? It is far from a horse" A young man beside them pats his hound on the side, it jerks slightly and pulls on the reins, "just because it looks like a normal saddle on a giant dog doesn't mean it is. Hounds are blood thirsty and will try to get you off them if you don't show who is in charge." Veronika gives him a quick look

"What better advice to take then your own." The man smiles and puts on his goggles, Eleanor strokes Jakes side, he sneezes and licks his nose with his giant tongue

"Oh yeah this one is a killer for sure." Veronika leans against Eleanor and receives a hug from her sister "You didn't look too good this morning, anymore nightmares?" The young woman shakes her head and earns another squeeze, "I tried to find out which gods we are racing against, but didn't find a thing, we have to go a day before them to make it fair."

"I thought this race was to shed down the boundaries of immortality and mortality."

"I guess not."

"Riders!" a weasel like man stands in front of all seven teams, Veronika makes a quick count, it seems there is only five groups of two, but every rider has their own hound, thank goodness for Jakes size. "Riders stand alert, you will travel for three days and in which time you will meet certain obstacles. Understand this, these will not only be things out of our world and the other, but it is the riders you race beside, or should I say against that are the real test of survival. The Gods will welcome those who survive at the first check point, and will introduce to you who are the two gods you are to be judged by. Let Zeus protect those who are worthy, and Hades damn those who are not." He steps to the side and raises his arm, Veronika feels Jake tense and Eleanor's trembling hands clinging to her sides, she takes the reins with her right hand and grabs her sisters with her left. She understands the fear but chooses to dive first into it, as the man's finger tightens around the trigger she leans forward, the nightmare she had in the jet, it was not to scare her away but to challenge her.

"Who are they to judge whether we be damned or saved."

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**So finally the race is starting, and it is going to be quite interesting, good things will happen and bad things.**

**I finished this while watching **_**What Dreams May Come**_** it is an amazing movie; I cry during this movie its pulls the heart strings. **


	6. Grasping Reality

**At last it begins! Read on my dears and enjoy.**

**I apologize for the lack of updates by the way; I'm busy or just plain lazy.**

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For a moment she didn't hear the gun shot, but she felt her hands tighten on the reins and Jakes body jerk forward in such a swift motion that for a moment his feet did not touch the ground. The dust covers them from the morning sun, the sound of paws pounding the dirt fill Veronika's ears, Eleanor holds on to her waist for dear life, Jakes strides are long and powerful. The red head looks through her goggles and watches the hounds pant as they work to achieve maximum speed; the riders bend forward their head's just resting on the animals. She turns around slightly, how fast they are going is unknown to her, but the camp is becoming so tiny. Eleanor yells something to Veronika, but the noise of the group blocks her voice, she pulls gently on Jakes reins so he slows to a comfortable speed of walking. Through the dirt field, ahead of the riders, a line of trees stand as a barrier. Veronika pats his head then turns to her sister "you were saying something?"

"I said look in the bag on your left side!" The younger woman uses her right hand to feel around in the bag and pulls out a magnum revolver; her sister quickly puts the gun back "In my opinion you should not bring that out just yet." Veronika stops Jake and watches the other riders slow their pace as they near the forest line "It is just for protection." Jake begins to walk again; his nose is raised into the air it breathes in a foul taste circling the oxygen, he growls and watches the hounds disappear through brush.

"Protection" The young woman wets her lips, she looks around realizing they are alone she stops the hound a few feet from the forest. For a moment she is at home staring at the hole in the brush leading to Hades temple which rotted the forest from the inside out. Jake growls again making Veronika lean over and pat his head, she unties herself from the saddle and slides off. Her boots hit the ground which sinks slightly. Pushing down she immediately notices the soft spongy texture of the soil and the strange odor wafting from deeper inside the brush. She walks closer; the humidity of the air is warm and sour, Veronika touches the tender cuts on her arm, the smell is strange it makes her slightly light headed "I think we should use caution" The red head stares ahead she knows something about the area is off, she reaches in one of the bags and looks at a gas mask. She places the mask back, Jake lies down so she can climb up and secure herself safely on the saddle. Eleanor pulls out the Revolver and a Persuader, Veronika turns to study the guns and sighs "You got yourself one too? I thought you hated guns."

"I'm not planning on using it, I'm sure if we are attacked by some other rider that decides to jump from the shadows, you will shoot him first." She retrieves two boxes of bullets and begins loading the guns. Jake steps into the forest, the young woman holds onto the reins, the hound's nose is low as it sniffs and feels for safe ground to walk across "When I woke you, I noticed you seemed a little on edge " Veronika shakes her head and smells the air again

"I have just been thinking"

"If you are having second thoughts, your timing is impeccable" Eleanor earns a glare from her sister

"I find your sarcasm so amusing." The young woman finally decides to retrieve the masks and passes one to Eleanor; the smell is getting stronger and is making her dizzy, there has to be something wrong with the forest. "Can you smell that?" The older woman nods and places the mask on; her voice comes out slightly muffled.

"Looks like the game is really starting to begin, it is so strange, a person can't really understand how dangerous this really is until-" Eleanor places her persuader under her coat in a inside pocket and looks up, the trees are becoming thicker and the light is beginning to be blocked out. Veronika places her mask on and breathes in deeply she gives Eleanor a quick look

"-you are actually living it." Jake stops he crouches, his lips draw back and show his jagged fangs and black gums, his mouth in a impossible attempt opens unnaturally, a threatening roar flows from his throat. Veronika taps Eleanor's leg quickly and holds out her hand, the older woman quickly reaches in one of their bags and pulls out the revolver. She checks the bullets and places the gun in her sister's hand, the red head brings the gun to her front, she holds the object, it is foreign to her hand, and the weight makes it hard to hold. With one hand she holds Jakes reins and in the other the revolver, all she needed now were bandits to jump out of the bushes and she had the making of a bad movie, she smirks slightly. A short pull to the reins and Jake cautiously moves forward, Veronika looks around, despite the early morning light they had before, the ground slopes into a pit of black with trees growing out of the shadows. The hound steps into the black, his paw fades into it, staring at the pit Veronika stops him, she turns around, there has to be another way maybe they can go around. The forest goes on for miles from where the group sits the pit looks more like an ongoing valley making shivers run up the young woman's spine. She spins her guns cylinder chamber and listens to the clicking, Jake raises his head and turns he stares at her with his ears up, Veronika looks at him "Go." He descends into the dark; Eleanor looks to where the light is and watches as it is cut out sharply by the black. The pit hides the sky and itself becomes it, through the black a marsh, completely different from the outside, inhabits the area.

"Veronika, we left the camp about an hour ago and yet I haven't seen a single rider, it does not make sense." Veronika furrows her brows in thought, she reaches on Jakes right side where a lamp hangs on a bag and brings it up, and Eleanor takes a lighter and tries to ignite a flame. The younger sister takes the lighter and stares at it, the smell of the gas, something is off, the pit is dark and any rider would need some kind of source to provide light, they should see lanterns. "Eleanor do you think that there is something else underlying the gas we keep smelling, I mean isn't it strange we haven't seen any lantern lights."

"Hydrogen"

"What?"

"Hydrogen is the gas that first comes to my mind, one of the first labs I did in college. It is odorless, colorless, and extremely light." The older woman looks down and sighs "If we had lit a flame-"The brunette covers her face "we have to rethink everything we do in this place." Veronika pockets the lighter and places the lantern back, she looks at her watch and notices the hands have stopped moving, she taps the glass.

"My watch stopped working and it hasn't moved since twelve am, damn it all" Jake continues to move despite his master's frustrations, his paws dip into warm water and moist moss. Through the dark is a silence Veronika recognizes from her blackout, she leans against the hounds head and peers into the dark, she notices his yellow eye's pupil is dilated enough to cover most of the eye itself. Something walks amongst the trees with them, watching intently enough that Veronika can feel pressure pushing on her side. She clicks her tongue and orders Jake to go faster just to escape whatever gaze is directed at them, Eleanor hangs on and pulls her coat closer to her body to stop any water to splash on her face or clothes. The hound picks up speed, he threads himself between the trees in an ungraceful manor but still somehow keeps as quiet as can be, and he shields his rider and company in the silence of the marsh. A man's scream suddenly breaks the soundless barrier, Veronika whips the reins lightly, Jake begins to pant as he runs faster, through the dark, shapeless forms are slightly visible as they approach. Ahead glimmers of light float across the surface, Jake halts almost throwing Veronika off his back, she looks down and swallows a ball of air, water laps slowly at the hounds paws. Mist moves across the pond, the trees' roots refuse to touch the water, the young woman jumps off Jake and kneel to closer inspect the liquid. Through the mask the putrid stench easily made its way to Veronika's nose, she tries not to gag and stands quickly. Jake places his head by hers and pushes her back, Eleanor points to the right side of the pond.

"Veronika look" Eleanor tips her head to the direction of some buildings she leads the hound; Veronika holds the saddle and looks down avoiding any physical contact with the water. The buildings stone work is fairly old, the roofs and floors had rot away to nothing, the hinges attached to the windows are rusted away, and very small fragments of wood are still evident. The town is sloped and deformed the Marsh is swallowing the stone work of the buildings. Veronika listens to the mask as it echoes her breath through the isolated town; Eleanor taps her shoulder and points to the far right. Over a mile radius, a large patch of land is crowded with stones worn away by the elements. Graves. "Something must have happened, maybe illness, a fire, or a flood." The red head nods slightly, the stones are so close together she had a feeling that the bodies of the people were probably just placed in a piled and buried.

"I'm sure the gas was also a contributing factor." The substance is very strange it is heavy enough to swim past Jakes paws like a small stream, but the density is smoke-like. "I think we should keep going, there is no way I can rest here for the night-" Veronika groans in defeat and mumbles "- crap, I do not even know if it is night, how long have we been here it feels like hours." Veronika taps her watch with her finger; the hands are glued in place like before. The scream comes again, it is closer, through the mist Veronika immediately sees one of the riders running toward them, he holds a shot gun and aims it at Eleanor.

"Give me your hound!" Veronika is behind Jake the man must not see her, she reaches in her pocket and holds her gun, the man continues shouting frantically at Eleanor, who is frozen in place. "Give me your fucking hound!" His face is pale and covered in sweat, what manner of horror makes this man so scared, or maybe it is a ruse, the young woman peeks at his face, raw fear, she knows the emotion too well, maybe it is not a trick. She cannot place the man's face he must be one of the groups of two, she wonders where the other rider is, and that is when she sees the dark liquid on his hands and coat. Jake lowers his head and growls the man points the shot gun at the Jake and sees Veronika with her gun raised, he seethes through his teeth and cocks the gun. "You, because of you my friend is dead, because of you he's here killing us at random as if it's a fucking game!" He aims at her head, the red head stands still and she watches him, she cannot decide on fear or excitement, her finger on the trigger twitches. Before she makes a move Jake lunges with his mouth wide open, the man drops the gun and covers himself with his arms. Veronika runs in front of Jake making the hound stop just inches, he growls disapproving then walks back. The young woman kicks away the gun, the other rider falls down in a heap sobbing uncontrollably, she leans down to help him but he slaps her hand away muttering. "It is entirely your fault, it is your entire fault, he will find me and kill me. I'm damned, damned." He begins to cry again, Eleanor jumps off Jake and grabs her sister; Veronika's eyes are dull as she slowly closes in on herself. She falls down and digs her nails into the moss, again her head is fuzzy and sweat begins to form on her brow. Veronika looks up at the man who is now standing, for a moment a quick smirk forms on his face and his eyes flash blue before she blacks out.

* * *

Waking to the dark catches Veronika off guard, she reaches up and tries to take off her mask, she cannot breathe, her air is constricted which makes her hands scramble behind her head to pull off the metal monstrosity. Her head is on something soft, she makes out the shape of Jake his head is on her lap, she pets him, beside her Eleanor sleeps, she breathes calmly, slowly, and without worry. Veronika reaches out and moves a strand of hair out of her face, the older woman eye flutter softly. Very slowly the young woman moves Jakes head. The hound licks its nose and sighs contently; she stands and looks around, where are the buildings? She didn't know where they took her. Eleanor must have had Jake carry her and travel farther away to a safer distance, closer to the check point. How long was she asleep? A chill runs through her body she holds her coat close but the cold is under her skin and sewn into her spine

"Veronika" a pale hand raises and rests it on her cheek, Veronika's movements are inert she falls down on the ground her green eyes wide with surprise, her body ignores her commands. The god kneels and places a knee on her chest his weight crushes her against the soil and pushes the air out of her lungs; he places a hand on her throat. A strand of his long hair brushes her cheek, it is surprisingly soft. The god holds a deep frown on his face; he looks at the sleeping hound which makes his hand tighten around the woman's throat, she grinds her teeth fighting the urge to bite him. He turns back to her and lowers his face to hers, the god's lips just hovering, his blue eyes study her "Where can you run now, how can you scream when there is no one to hear it?" He forces her mouth open, Veronika gulps for air but receives none; Hades moves closer just grazing her lips he opens his mouth slightly and begins to breathe in air. With it she feels her strength waning, her eyes dart to her arm, she sees her flesh shrivel slowly and pale to a sickly grey, the red in her hair whitens. She closes her eyes and finally begins to pray for some sort of solution or circumstance to show itself so she can escape; sadly the realization makes itself known that Veronika will die. Hades words echo, this isn't another bad dream, this form, the dirt and trees, it is real. She is trapped in deaths shroud and asks Hades question to herself

"Where can I run?"

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**Well there you go, will Veronika survive? Will Jake wake up and attack Hades? Will I update more often despite my epic laziness? Stay tuned.**

**Review please. Do it do it do it.**


	7. Authors Note

**ATTENTION- I'm so sorry, I made a mistake, a very, very big mistake, but I fixed it. Sorry for spamming your emails and please just ignore the fact that I deleted all my chapters and had to upload them all again. Lets not ask questions I just had a moment where I didn't think about what I was doing when fixing a chapter. **


	8. Stolen Breath

**Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates I have been job hunting and I recently bought a puppy, I'm trying to get back in the beat of things so, I apologize **

**Alright I admit I have a serious case of writer's block, so sue me! *snuffs***

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The dead trees above Veronika spin. Hades blue eyes close in concentration, while Veronika prays. No help, no voice, what can she-. She opens her dull eyes and allows a thought to pass through, as strange as it was it might work. She watches Hades closely then uses whatever strength her body can muster and pulls the god against her, his lips plant firmly against hers. His blue eyes shoot open and widen while Veronika closes hers, deepening the kiss. The expectation of a foul taste of brim stone or the sour stench of rot is a taste of cold, a brush with deaths lips and she somehow tastes a normal man. The kiss is strange, as some of her strength comes back and her skin receives its once youthful glow, a small tingle moves throughout her body and up to her lips. Veronika whimpers quietly, confused by her reaction. The plan, she cannot fall into this, it is just a kiss, she raises her leg and swiftly jams her knee into Hades groin making him grunt in pain and fall to the side. Quickly, Veronika pulls from Hades grasp and stands despite the vile threatening to erupt out of her mouth from the inhaling of the gas. She holds her head and tries to scream, a dry gasp comes out instead. Another attempt proves successful "Eleanor!"

Eleanor's eyes flutter open and stare at the weak young woman. Jake immediately stands and watches the god pick himself up off the ground and twist his face with rage. The hound moves swiftly between the two people and lowers himself to the ground. Eleanor runs to Veronika and helps her up on the saddle; she takes the reins and screeches at Jake to run. The hound obeys. Veronika attempts to hold her head up, but no matter what she does her body thrashes back and forth like a broken rag doll. Why did she help that man? She looks at the trees, they morph into ugly faces sneering and screaming at her, she looks down at the ground, blood splashes at Jakes feet making her eyes grow wide. What the hell is she seeing? Twisted images are being forced into her head by something. In the distance the sound of screeching echoes through the marsh Eleanor looks back and whips the reins, a wind picks up carrying the flapping of wings. Ahead the ground leads up to a dangerous slope, Jake jumps on the rocks and claws his way up, the Harpies screams move closer. Veronika covers her ears. Eleanor holds on to Jake and her sister, the hound reaches the black layer of smoke the group has encountered before. The older woman shakes her sister making the young woman eyes open just as Jake pushes through the smoggy barrier, she screams as sun light blinds her. Vast grassy land lies before them; Jake pushes his body for speed. Harsh dusty air blows against him, miles ahead small black shapes rise slightly; Veronika leans forward and squints her eyes, buildings. They are buildings; smoke escapes out of chimneys, colorful fabric from clothes hang on lines. The red head's chest tightens she wheezes and chokes; she pushes her body off the hound, bouncing on the ground almost lifeless. Eleanor pulls on the reins to stop Jake; she jumps off the saddle and turns her sister on her back only to see green eyes stare right through the older woman.

"Veronika look at me, what is wrong-"Eleanor watches in horror as Veronika shakes violently, her skin pales to a grey once again, her eyes roll to the back of her head. The young woman reaches out and grasps the dirt, wood chips and small stones dig under nails, and she cannot feel the sting of the pain. The skin is numb; the world around her does not exist for a moment. Veronika raises her hand and pushes against something cold; she looks and realizes she grasps an icy stone. She blinks and stares at a stone chamber under a shadowed sky. Grime sticks to her skin; her hair is wet and clings to her cheeks, black water seeps into her clothes. She tries to climb up sharp boulders which cut her hands. The creak of wood catches her attention she turns and sees a large boat made with rotting timber, a skeletal being steers it groaning as if its voice box had rot away long ago. The boat stops and the creature watches her.

"Charon" she mutters, he tries to move closer but the boat scrapes against the rocks, blocking her from the ferryman's reach, under the water the corpses of men rise and stretch to touch her. She has only heard of the ferryman, why was she here, where was here? Veronika moves quickly and allows the rocks dig deeper into her hands as she pushes herself up on higher ground, she blinks and finds herself back on the ground with Eleanor hovering over her.

"Veronika, oh god, Veronika please look at me, what is happening?" Veronika tries to push her sister away, too much is happening. Where is she? The underworld or her world? Jake starts to walk in a circle around the two women he growls and nudges Eleanor with his nose, the older woman looks up. Dark clouds begin to quickly form over the marsh; she drags her sister's hysterical form. Veronika thrashes at her sister; she bites and screams demanding to be left to die where she is. The visions of disgusting images come faster, the long grass of the land are skeletal arms reaching up and scratching her legs, the harpies screams become so loud she whimpers. Eleanor stares at her sister's sick cowering body, and tries to console her only to have Veronika flinch from her touch. Once both women are on the hound's saddle, Jake begins to run to the town. Veronika bites her lip, a headache starts, no sound, no feeling, the light is disappearing making her lean forward and black out ignoring Eleanor's voice.

* * *

People hover over her, their voices cannot be made out clearly; a man looks down his lips move, forming words. Veronika turns away; he grabs her face and makes her look up at him. It is the shopkeeper she met, his expression is stony, he speaks again, but the young woman only hears a low hum through her ears. Her eyes roll back, it becomes black once again.

* * *

Noise from the street finds a way to a hotel's room window, a lamp light flickers slightly making Veronika stir in her dreamless sleep, she opens her eyes and tries to make sense of her surroundings. A neutral colored room, a black door, and a small window make the space simple. Disoriented, she sits up and stares at the new bandages on her arms and sighs, what happened before now is blurry. A knock at the door grabs her attention. The shop keeper opens the door and flashes a white smile; he walks in with a tray of food. Veronika yawns and sits up with a blank expression displayed on her face "I don't enjoy having strange men enter my room" The man places the tray down and frowns from Veronika's lack of respect.

"I suppose I should give you my name, if you decide to be polite." Veronika looks away and stares out the window making the man sigh "It's Hector" He sits on a chair opposite of her bed on the other side of a table, he slides the food over. Beef stew and a flat looking wheat bun.

"You know, it would be so helpful if you told me what exactly happened to Andrew." she takes a spoonful of the stew she is given and quickly takes her napkin to spit the food out. Bland and sandy, she coughs and pushes away the bowl. Hector pushes it back

"Eat; you'll need your strength. I know the food is not appetizing at the moment but in a couple of days everything will be back to normal." Veronika stares at the stew and sighs; she takes small bites, frowning through the entire meal. For a couple minutes the two people sit in silence.

"Will I have to repeat myself?" The man rolls his eyes and leans back into his chair; the red head flicks a piece of potato on the table she dropped moments before. He picks at the bun, contemplating his answer

"When I last saw him, he told me of things, he said he began to have terrible nightmares, when he tried not to sleep, the images came to him when he was awake. When I left him, I received news he was found in his bedroom with his eyes clawed out, barely alive. Apparently Andrew mumbled about blinding himself from death, he died three days later in the hospital."

"Where the hell was the nurses and doctors?"

"Apparently a nurse said a doctor came to check on him but never left, she just dismissed it as nothing, thinking the doctor left when she went to check another patient."

"How can anyone be so stupid" Veronika looks at her stew and pushes it away once again, her appetite gone. "It is frightening just thinking that I wanted to die just as badly as he did only hours ago." She looks outside "where is my sister?"

"Sleeping. You are quite the handful." He gives up on the bun and pushes the plate away then watches Veronika with a raised eyebrow. "You are lucky to have survived, if you were alone, well…" Hector trails off while shifting his gaze to the window "I have something for you." He reaches in his leather bag and pulls out a revolver, exactly like the young woman's, but with strange carvings all over it. Veronika pushes her bed covers away and climbs off the bed. The light hits the gun making it shimmer black.

"That's, really odd." Hector frowns and tosses it to her; the young woman is startled by its light weight, and runs her fingers over the carvings.

"See it as a gift, I wish to provide you with more protection, that beast of yours cannot always be with you." Veronika places the revolver on the table

"Your help troubles me more than bringing me ease, but I-" She looks at it and wets her lips realizing they are dry and cracked "Thank you, I'm not one to accept help, but it seems recently I have no choice in the matter."

"You seem keen on saving other people's lives." Veronika tightens her jaw slightly, than calms herself.

"Look where that got me." She lays back into the bed and stretches, and looks out the window then the ceiling. "This race, I have to endure more then I was expecting" Hector stands up while picking up the dishes, he stares at the red hair contrasting the white pillow, and the hard green eyes gaze blankly at the white ceiling. The subtle clang of dishes against one another create soft echoes off the walls, the floor creaks as Hector walks away and opens the door, he stops just before it closes.

"I'm glad you are not being so blind to the future, he will never stop and deep down you must slowly prepare to do things you cannot imagine ever attempting." He shuts the door. The sudden silence allows his words to seep deep within Veronika's skin, bones, everything. The race is becoming more difficult, far more then she thought, perhaps the choice to fighting to the very end is her only way. She curls into her blankets and closes her eyes, how long did she sleep as her sister rode Jake through the marsh and grassy meadow, how long did Hades watch her with those deadly blue eyes until he knew when to strike? Veronika didn't even bother to turn off the lights, she feels her thoughts float away and her eyes grow heavy with sleep, a tree outside moves slightly. A loud knock startles Veronika, she looks out side groggily. Hounds' howls are close by. People shout as the arrivals of riders begin, the morning air is sickly sweet making the young woman's empty stomach churn uncomfortably. A heavy knock comes from the door again.

"What." Veronika's answer is flat in tone and meaning, a man opens the door, she doesn't recognize him but shows no interest to even care, it is going to be one of those days. He opens the door wide and stares at her for a moment; a subtle flick of his wrist shows a glimpse of a symbol.

"Rider number three, you are requested to accompany me to the viewing tent" Veronika groans and stands up on weak legs, she steadies herself by grabbing the table ledge. The man looks uneasy as the young woman wobbles back to the bed and falls back uttering a soft 'oof'. "Um, Rider Three…"

"Right now huh?" Veronika sits up to think for a moment then points to the door "out, I need to change."

* * *

The man's strides were long and heavy as they hit the ground. The two people walk through the street of what seems to be an old mining town, the buildings rickety foundations lean forward from the warping of the wood. People stop to stare for a moment at the young woman then quickly divert their gazes. Veronika shakes her shoulders in a sad attempt to stop the burning weight of the town's inhabitants many eyes. A few meters away an enormous white tent breathlessly glides down to the ground pegged, and despite the breeze the fabric stays as still as a solid wall. The man opens the flaps that act as the entrance and walks in. Veronika allows the fabric to flow against her hand and run off like water, its translucent quality hides the people in the structure, but she can hear voices. Walking in, the other riders stop their conversations and stare at her. This is not a good day, she wants to walk back outside but her feet lead her to the group of men, they continue their silence.

"Riders, congratulations on completing the first obstacle of the race." A man's voice, smooth and commanding rushes past the group of people like a soft breeze. Veronika feels her knees weaken by an unknown order, she kneels to the floor. Biting her lip she watches as the other riders follow suite, their expressions a subtle confusion with fright, as one falls one after another. The red heads feels her body being pushed to the floor; she turns her head slightly to see forward, and notices the white armored feet standing in front of her. The force pushing her eases away but continues to keep her on her knees. The being she has seen so many times before, in pictures and T.V. sets, stands before the group of people in a fatherly manner. A hollowly sincere smile spreads evenly with the lips behind his beard. " A change has been made."

"As weary as you may be, if you truly wish to win, go and show me. The race now starts at dusk, you have six hours."

* * *

**Good grief, this block is doing something fierce.**

**I'll try to do better next chapter, damn brain farts.**


	9. To Be Wise

Sorry this uper late, I have no excuse guys I should of put more time into this, next semester at University will not be as consuming as this one. But you know, YAY a new chapter!

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* * *

**"_The world is full of the dead; we are cursed to live a half life or no life at all."_

* * *

"He said what?" Eleanor's eyes are wide in disbelief, her brown hair in slight disarray from waking up just minutes ago. Holding a napkin to her mouth she holds back the morning sickness threatening to overtake her body.

Veronika covers her face with her bandaged hands and sighs. Through her fingers the air escapes then is inhaled slowly. "There has got to be a purpose for this change, today before dusk I'm sure that purpose will present itself. In the mean time I think I'll get us ready for our _sudden _departure." Standing up from the seat she took on her Eleanor's bed, Veronika leans down and places a change of clothes on the blue blanket. "No worries"

Eleanor frowns slightly and takes her baby sisters hand, squeezing it gently she pulls Veronika on her knees so their eyes are level. "Veronika, you almost died yesterday, slow down, we have time if you need to talk about-" As soon as the older woman finishes her sentence she places her hand gently on the red heads cheek. The soft manner of that hand placement allows her pinky to drop down and brush against Veronika's neck.

Like any natural impulse Veronika's body jerks away quickly enough to catch both women off guard, and pulls her into an ugly memory. The sudden feeling of Hades hands around her throat crushes her lungs. The same raw fear picking at her nerves pushes her body against the hotel room's sick yellow wall.

Eleanor sits frozen on the bed her ashen face mirroring a forced expression carved on a statue. "What's happening to you?"

"Nothing, my neck is soar from being jerked around like a rag doll, riding a hound is not a smooth ride." Veronika stands; she fights the throbbing pain in her head that begins to numb her. Taking a breath she relaxes her shoulders and steers her feet to the room's door. A sound of a body shifting on the bed's mattress quickens her pace. Knowing what is coming Veronika hopes to lessen her sister's stinging words by creating a larger distance between them.

"You always make things worse!"

Veronika opens the door and slams it shut; leaning against it she tries to groan but instead utters a miserable choke. Holding her coat against her body she walks down the hotels wooden steps, the owner looks at her from behind his desk, she pulls up her hood and turns away. Outside, heavy air greets her with a harsh breeze, Veronika rushes past the few people on the street, wooden stands filled with fruit, vegetables and other produce stand in the center of the town. The wind sweeps up Veronicas red hair and covers her face. Quickly she makes a gesture to move the strands, her face clearly showing her annoyance. Walking over to a friendly looking woman, she buys a granny smith apple and nods in thanks to the older woman.

Finding an empty bench was not difficult. No one wanted to be near the large white tent where the gods reside, its disgusting beauty is too much for a human to take in visually she supposed. A few meters away a fruit vender laughs with a customer and hands her a bag of golden delicious. Veronika watches for a moment, a simple interaction between strangers. Trying to concentrate on the race proves harder than expected, to live the experience of expecting the unexpected is far from simple. "A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees" she mumbles. _This sucks._ Her fingers graze the smooth surface of the granny smith apple, a guilty pleasure for her hands and mouth. Yelling catches her attention, looking up she spots a woman shouting at the fruit vender while holding up a bag. Thankful that she is pulled from her thoughts, Veronika stands while tossing her apple in her hand. Approaching the angry woman her pace quickens when more people walk to the vender beginning more arguments.

"Look at this, such a disgusting-"

"How could you sell us this-"

"I demand my money back you-"

"Bastard, how stupid do you think we-"

In a harsh movement the woman stands between the vender and angry crowd, three identical cloaked men stand before the other people. More riders. "Move woman, our business is with him not you" the tallest of the three spoke with a stern tone, the rider on the right steps closer to Veronika.

"Or, perhaps it is" His companions look at one another but make no move to stop him. He paces in front of her and taps his finger on his guns holster "I hear you were the first to come to the check point, in fact you came a day early_._" He stops and looks at her hand; the vibrant green skin of her apple is punctured by her nails causing the juices to drip down, smoky and bitter. "I heard that this could very well be your doing."

_Doing? What the hell is he going on about?_ "Wait" not realizing the apple slipping from her grip, the realization in Veronika's mind clicks as the fruit's weight hits the ground with a empty thump "You son of a bitch, your blaming me for this!" her hand does a sudden swipe in a presenting motion to the venders rotting food.

"Wake up girl, think about where you are, what we are doing, who we are up against. Look around and try to explain this to yourself. This is unnatural, and let me be clear when I say, nothing out of the ordinary happened to the rest of us, just you. Now look." The rider points behind causing Veronika to turn , opening her mouth slightly, she stares at all the produce stands, people are backing away, some that were eating the food are on the ground vomiting black vile. Covering her mouth she turns away. The stench is unbearable. It burns her throat as she breathes in, the food is somehow spoiling too fast to be natural and the blame, the blame is screeching in her ears. The rider stands inches away from Veronika's face a smile twists into place, he takes her chin in his hand "You are going to pay for this soon enough."

Veronika jerks away, her back twists in an awkward position while trying to stop her body from the heaving motions beginning in her stomach. Ignoring the stares from the crowd in front of her, she regains her composure and stands straight. Staring into the man's eyes she steps forward and grabs the man's face in a rougher manner then he did to her. "Say's the fool who will very well fall before the morning." Veronika gives his cheek a good pat and jumps back before he has time to grab her hand.

"You little-"

"Afraid? Typical really, men twist themselves with their fear. Now if you will excuse me." Veronika turns on her heel and walks towards a stone building and disappears behind it, now out of view, she leans against the building's wall and lets a breath escape her mouth. Had she not been holding this in she knows too well she would have lost her composure again, after the smell of the rotting food and blame. Veronika bites her lip "Damn it all" her mind is blurred, food will be impossible to obtain now with this sudden event. "Oh my god, what is going on" She steps forward and leans on a wooden fence, looking off she thinks, calming her nerves. "I'm going to pay, explain this, just look" Veronika picks at the wood; it chips away easily under her nails. She stops and looks up. "Two gods are riding with us, fruit rotting, and the swamp. Of course, why didn't I think of that before?"

Running, Veronika makes her way to the inn and surprises the innkeeper; he stares at her with wide eyes as she points a finger at him. "You! Go get the woman in room three, right now!"

* * *

Eleanor is quiet, as the two women walk together. Veronika looks back at her and watches as she looks away, obviously still angry. Sighing, she no longer looks back; instead she looks at the line of hounds.

Jake is sniffing the air and turns to her. The small stubbed tail wags quickly as she approaches; he receives a scratch under the chin. "Hey boy" She looks forward, a tree front stands erect, tall and old, even by the distance she sees the thickness of the trunks and the wild undergrowth.

Eleanor climbs on the saddle and secures her self, she looks up and opens her mouth in surprise, she leans over and grabs the reign. She whips it slightly to hit Veronika's head.

Annoyed, Veronika turns rubbing the sore spot "The hell you do that for? I know you mad, but really beating your baby sister?" Eleanor glares then points to a platform, Veronika looks up. The gods stand, they look over the railing, the appearance of their gaze is unsettling and make the group of people look away from them. The robes they wear hide their armor, once and awhile their movements show hints of bright metal.

Veronika spots the one god she is looking for, Hades form hiding in the back, a black cloak covering him. A man in the group below begins shouting at the riders his voice fades out, Veronika stares at the Olympians, memerizing their faces.

"You two, Look sharp, we start soon!" The man addresses the two woman, Eleanor frowns and looks at Veronika who pays no mind to his warning.

Watching Hades stand among the other gods, in their magnificent armor was like watching a wolf stalk among grazing sheep. He faces the east as dusk slowly takes the sky; the sun dips into the earth creating a blaze on every cloud, how long must you be in the dark to miss the setting sun and rising moon. Veronika finds it hard not to stare at him, while the other gods look down on everyone else; Hades takes in his surroundings for his own benefit, with a longing she herself cannot relate to. The banished Olympian steps back slightly to separate him from the other immortals and looks directly at her. Veronika eyes dart away, the feeling of his glare on her are a force pushing into her skin, and out her stomach. A sudden snarl breaks through the noise of riders and gods. Two creatures are lead to the lineup of riders. Wildly swinging their heads, black tongues stream out her their mouths through the rows upon rows of teeth. The creature's oddest feature is their identical movements, completely in sync with one another as if one mind is shared between them. The men leading them to the line of riders stop and kneel in respect as Hades and Apollo walk down the platforms stairs.

Hades mumbles "move" to one of the men kneeling near him. The man scrambles away, and cowers slightly. Hades mounts the hound, he pulls at the riding gloves he wears, and takes hold of the reins. The odd hound's head quivers strangely and gurgle's a liquid in its throat as if sick. The god pulls up his hood and stares forward.

Apollo sits on the other hound nearby, looking around; he keeps his hood down, his black hair neatly done. His youthful face, bright, with a hint of excitement behind his eyes, he holds the reign's tightly.

Eleanor pats the saddle, Veronika climbs on and ties herself to it for safety, she takes the reins away from her sister. Eleanor leans over and whispers into Veronikas ear "We're going to have to be a lot more causious, if we want to survive."

"Absolutely" Veronika watches the hooded figure on the hound, Hades head turns slightly, though she thought there is no way he could see her from the corner of his eye, he knows she is watching.

Jakes body jerks forward, the gun shot went unnoticed to Veronika, she still stares at the God, the sun finally sinks into the earth. Nightfall blankets the air, but still she stares, though there is nothing to stare at anymore.

Death is a stranger which runs among them, they will all die.

* * *

**The quote "A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees" is from William Blake's **_**The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Proverbs of Hell. **_**Copy right to him. Also I'm a fan of Blake's Poetry so you will see more quotes from his work.**

**Oh, I sense the tension. Review guys, the more you review the more power I have! Plus, I want to know how you feel about how the story is moving along and such.**

**REVIEW. REVIEW. IT. **

**Dude. I need a Beta so badly... I have no strength for editing.**


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